PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County commissioners approved new fee schedules for the fairgrounds and parks.
Commissioners conducted public hearings for each of the new fee schedules Tuesday along with a public hearing to discuss an amendment to the Clallam County Comprehensive 2025 Park and Recreation Master Plan.
The new fairgrounds fee schedule increases daily admission for adults from $10 to $12, seniors 65-79 from $8 to $10, youth 6-12 from $7 to $8 and students 13-17 to $9. Under the new schedule, seniors 80 or older and children younger than 5 will still be admitted for free.
The new schedule also makes changes to season passes. The cost for adults increases from $30 to $36, seniors 65-79 from $24 to $30, students 13-17 increases to $27, youth 6-12 from $15 to $24 and active military and veteran from $21 to $30.
All changes to the fairgrounds fee schedule can be found at tinyurl.com/PDN-Fairgrounds-Fees.
For these changes, the Parks, Fair and Facilities Department worked with the Fairgrounds Advisory Board, Director Don Crawford told commissioners.
“We received the recommendation from the fair board and staff went through those recommendations,” Crawford said. “We went through the (Consumer Price Index) and we also commenced working on getting a better handle on identifying expenses so we had at the time this was due, we had gone through and made some preliminary determinations about what our fees need to be based on operational data, labor, materials and supplies.”
The fees need to increase because they have been historically set by people using their feelings and wanting to keep costs low, but department staff have been working to identify expenses and know what the staff’s actual labor costs are, Crawford said.
Commissioners approved the staff recommendation for fee increases after no one spoke during the public hearing.
Commissioners then turned their attention to the parks fee schedule, which also had recommendations from the staff as well as from the Parks Advisory Board.
Parks fees were raised for 2024 after several years without any increases, Crawford told the board. After no fee increases for 2025, the department recommended a 6 percent increase based on the Consumer Price Index.
The park fee schedule includes increases for the Dungeness Recreation Area. Non-utility sites will increase from $30 to $32 for county residents and from $40 to $43 for non-county residents. For the Salt Creek Recreation Area, the cost for a non-utility site will increase from $35 to $37 for county residents and from $45 to $48 for non-county residents.
The full list of park fee schedule changes can be found at tinyurl.com/PDN-Parks-Fees.
Park staff recommended the Dungeness and Salt Creek recreation area fee increases for county residents while the Park Advisory Board wanted no increase for county residents.
The only comparable site for the parks department to look at was the Crescent Beach campground, which is private, Crawford said.
“When we look at what they’re charging and what we’re charging, we are still more affordable than what they are charging,” he said.
There is substantial demand for Salt Creek, said Crawford, who added that he doesn’t think there will be a change in reservation behavior based on the fee increases.
County Administrator Todd Mielke spoke in favor of the fee increases by pointing out that, whether a site has utilities or not, or being rented by a county resident or non-county resident, the costs to maintain the site are continuing to rise.
“So to take the viewpoint that there should be absolutely no increase for county residents I think is a little one that is a little bit difficult when we talk about what the cost increases have been,” he said.
Crawford next spoke to commissioners regarding a resolution to approve an amendment to the county’s Park and Recreation Master Plan. The amendment includes the formal adoption of Dungeness Trails County Park and the addition of six “hiker/biker” and one marine trail campsite at Salt Creek Recreation Area, he said.
By formally adopting the Dungeness Trails County Park, the county will install an official parking lot, likely gravel, which will help with safety concerns in the area.
Commissioners approved the resolution.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
